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The studio that made the first Spider-Man cartoon went bankrupt before Season 2. The man who ran it left behind exactly five words explaining why. Then a 28-year-old animator named Ralph Bakshi was handed $14,000 and seven days per episode to keep the show alive — and what he did to survive accidentally created one of the most iconic cartoons in American history.

The 1967 Spider-Man cartoon was secretly produced in Toronto with an all-Canadian cast to dodge SAG residuals. The costume was stripped of webbing to save animation costs. The spider logo had six legs by mistake for an entire season. Two episodes weren't even Spider-Man episodes — they were recycled Rocket Robin Hood cels with Spidey drawn over Robin Hood. One episode was so strange ABC refused to air it. And the theme song? Recorded by twelve Canadian session singers who got paid once and never saw a royalty as the song went on to be covered by Aerosmith, the Ramones, and play in every Sam Raimi Spider-Man film.

This is the story of how a studio collapse, a bankrupt distributor, and a desperate seven-day deadline accidentally created the version of Spider-Man that Sony canonized in Into the Spider-Verse.

🕷️ TIMESTAMPS


0:00 - Intro
00:41 - Spiderman Cartoon Facts: THE STUDIO THAT XEROSED MARVEL COMICS
03:40 - Spiderman Cartoon Facts: SEASON ONE ON ABC
06:51 - Spiderman Cartoon Facts: Five Words That Killed Grantray-Lawrence
06:43 - Spiderman Cartoon Facts: The Story Everyone Tells (And Why It's Wrong)
08:13 - Spiderman Cartoon Facts: Fourteen Thousand Dollars and Seven Days
11:29 - Spiderman Cartoon Facts: The Worst Decision Saved Its Legacy
13:22 - Spiderman Cartoon Facts: Verdict